Linking police and health data for research
Authors: Paul Affleck
Journal: The Lancet Public Health (2023)

Natasha Kennedy and colleagues1Kennedy N Win TL Bandyopadhyay A et al.Insights from linking police domestic abuse data and health data in South Wales, UK: a linked routine data analysis using decision tree classification.Lancet Public Health. 2023; 8: e629-e638Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar have the laudable aim of producing insights that could prevent domestic abuse, but linking a person's medical and police records for research raises concerns, especially when the people to whom the data belong are so vulnerable. Kennedy and colleagues note "individuals have a right to privacy" but that a Public Protection Notification enables information sharing to reduce the risk of serious harm. However, here the aim is research, not reducing risks to a particular individual. One of the authors is noted as the project's patient and public involvement advisor, but it is unclear if any cohort members were consulted as to the acceptability of such data linkage and research. Kennedy and colleagues1Kennedy N Win TL Bandyopadhyay A et al.Insights from linking police domestic abuse data and health data in South Wales, UK: a linked routine data analysis using decision tree classification.Lancet Public Health. 2023; 8: e629-e638Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar refer to "anonymised identified persons", which seems self-contradictory. Presumably, the "encrypted anonymised linking field" means that Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank does not contain direct identifiers for these individuals, which would be a sensible data protection measure. However, it still needs to be considered whether this research is compatible with how the data were gathered in terms of the common law duty of confidentiality and the UK General Data Protection Regulation. This is a key question for the relevant governance body to consider. Kennedy and colleagues state that the project has been approved by the Information Governance Review Panel for Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank. Nonetheless, there is no mention of domestic abuse or police data in the online description of the data linkage used by Kennedy and colleagues for their Article.2SAIL DatabankProject 916, Wales Electronic Cohort for Children (WECC): phase 4.https://saildatabank.com/data/data-use-register/Date accessed: August 9, 2023Google Scholar The concerns that Kennedy and colleagues raise about organisations sharing data for purposes beyond research also pertain to research. Their project raises ethical and legal questions, which could derail future linkage of data. This letter represents the personal opinions of the author and not the views of any organisation, body, or committee. PA is a programme manager at the University of Leeds; he is also an independent advisor to National Health Service England, a member of the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration's Involvement Network, and a lay member of the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee. Insights from linking police domestic abuse data and health data in South Wales, UK: a linked routine data analysis using decision tree classificationThe results indicate that vulnerable individuals are detectable in multiple datasets before and after involvement of the police. Operationalising these findings could reduce police callouts and future Emergency Department or hospital admissions, and improve outcomes for those who are vulnerable. Strategies include querying previous Emergency Department and hospital admissions, giving a high-risk assessment for a pregnant victim, and facilitating data linkage to identify vulnerable individuals. Full-Text PDF Open AccessLinking police and health data for research – Authors' replyWe would like to clarify that the project described in our Article1 does not involve a traditional cohort but is based on anonymised routine data. However, a consultation on the acceptability of linkage was undertaken. An independent qualitative report was commissioned by the Rhondda Cynon Taff Public Service Board to consult families in the South Wales area who use its services. The findings were that there was high support (>80%) among families that information should be shared between organisations (the National Health Service, local authority and police service) to improve early targeted interventions for families. Full-Text PDF Open Access